My apologies for asking what I’m sure is the bazillionth question about table saws, but—

I’m in the market for my first table saw and found a used Delta 10” contractor’s saw online for $300. It includes a “precision” fence and is said to be in “excellent condition.” From the pictures it looks to be no more than 10-15 years old and may be newer than that. The seller has been unable to provide a model number as it’s being stored at another location. I’ve scheduled a time to go look at the saw and will do my best to check everything out. Assuming it’s about 10 years old or newer, and assuming that it is in “excellent condition,” does $300 sound like a fair price, or might I do better to spend more and buy a new saw?

Thanks for any input or advice—and I love this forum.

10 replies so far

I think you can get a brand new Rigid contractor’s saw for around $550, and I’ve heard great reviews about them from other LJ’s that own them. I think new Delta contractor’s saws are in the $600 range, and the benchtop saws with stand are around $200. I personally think $300 sounds a little high for a table saw of that age, but maybe you should go check it out just to see how nice it is. If it comes with a really nice fence it may be worth it. Do you know if they have a nice miter guage to offer with it? I have a 20 year old Delta contractor’s saw that I use for disc sanding and a router table. I consider it to be in great condition, but I don’t think I’d ask that much for it if I were to sell it.

Thanks for your reply. I wish I had more information about the age of the saw, etc., but at this point I’m going on what I can tell from the pictures. Unfortunately, you can’t tell everything from a picture and I could be off on the age; maybe it’s much newer, but I won’t know that until I see it and talk to the seller. As I said, this will be my first table saw and I don’t want to get ripped off. In addition to a new (or newer) contractor’s saw, I’m also considering a portable such as the Bosch 4000-09 or the Ridgid 2400LS. I have a garage workshop and it might be nice to stow the saw when not in use.

You know, I’ve mentioned my new Craftsman contractors saw several times in different forums. It’s like the Bosch with wheels and folding stand but has more features and jigs than any saw I’ve seen yet. It’s the red one. $400.00. Think they got a sale on now too.

I’ve seen that one too. I read it’s essentially a Ryobi BT3100, with the sliding miter table and router table. What do you use yours for? I’m kind of a newbie now, but I would like to be able to make fairly precise cuts and dados with whatever I get.

I have the Ridgid 2400LS. I cannot say anything bad about the saw. Stores easily, powerful, beveled edge on the top, t-slots for the miter guage and slots in the fence so you can easily add featherboards. I just love it.

As with any saw purchase . . . get yourself a good blade. I got myself a 50T Freud.

I got nervous about buying a used saw without really knowing what to look for, and I figured it would be nice to be able to stow the saw to actually park a car in my garage from time to time, so I took a pass on the Delta and bought the Craftsman portable. It was on sale at Sears for $350 and so far seems very nice. At first I thought the sliding miter table was a bit odd, but I’m actually really liking it. So now I have a new saw—with a warranty—and someplace to go back to in case anything goes wrong. I did buy the extended two-year service agreement for $15.00. Overall, I’m very pleased.

Hey Congrats! I hope you like that Craftsman saw. Here’s a couple pointers. Set up is simple, read the owners manual. If you gotta make a precise miter cut, back up the sleds markings with a protractor of some kind. (Measure twice, cut once). Put the Chinese Sears blade into storage and buy a nice blade. I use a Freud Diablo…worth the money. Hookup a shop vac to the exaust. The blade tends to toss sawdust towards you without a vacuum attached. I’ve actually tried to put an elbow on the exaust and blow the dust into a bucket…it blew the dust out of the bucket! The saw and a 6.5hp shopvac will both run on the same 15amp circuit! I really cannot find any real worries with mine, I’m sure you’ll enjoy yours.

I went back to Sears yesterday to buy a dado blade and zero clearance throat plate. I found a throat plate and asked the Sears guy if it would work with the saw. He said, “It should.” Turns out, it doesn’t, so I’ll be going back to Sears later today to see if I can find the correct one. The dado blade is the 7” x 13/16” “thin rim dado set.” Hopefully that will work.